Former Lion Jones: We should win the series... but be wary of Genia

Former British and Irish Lion Ryan Jones believes Warren Gatland’s side can win the series in Australia, but has warned Warren Gatland’s men not to write off a dangerous Wallaby side.

The Lions are still unbeaten on this tour, and while the latest victory over the New South Wales Waratahs was particularly impressive, Jones knows sterner tests await.

The 32-year-old, who Gatland appointed as his first national team captain in 2008, is also concerned about the quality of Will Genia behind the pack.

Lion: Jones takes on New Zealand's Leon MacDonald during the first Test in Christchurch in 2005

‘He makes Australia tick, and having faced him a few times he’s a handful, but you desperately can’t get caught up in one individual. As soon as you become solely focused on him, that’s when you’re in real trouble because he will exploit that; the guy is world class. They’re too smart and too clever; they’ll hurt you in other places.’

Queensland Reds’ scrum half Genia will most likely be up against Bayonne bruiser Mike Phillips in the first test in Brisbane, but Jones says it is not just his former team-mate’s responsibility to shackle the Aussie danger man.

‘Genia is not just Mike’s to deal with – the Lions will have done a lot of preparation on defence and breakdowns and set-pieces to try to negate Genia’s strengths.’

Jones – a grizzled veteran of 73 tests for his country and one of only a handful of players to have won three Grand Slams – knows all about the challenge that will face the Lions in the coming weeks.

Star man: Genia is widely considered to be the best No 9 in world rugby

The Ospreys’ back row played in all three test matches when the tourists visited New Zealand in 2005, emerging as one of finds of a tour that ultimately ended in a 3-0 whitewash to one of the great All Black sides in recent history.

‘When I got the call I thought it was a wind-up because I’d gone from basically nothing to playing international rugby in a 12-month period. We won a Grand Slam for the first time in a million years and it was the icing on the cake. It was nothing short of jubilation and excitement really; there’s nothing bigger for a British Isles rugby player.’

Jones was not selected by head coach Sir Clive Woodward in the initial squad, but an injury to Scot Simon Taylor presented him with an opportunity which he was desperate to take. He produced a try-scoring man-of-the-match display against Otago and never looked back, coming off the bench in the first Test before being named in the starting XV for the final two games.

Star performer: Jones scores against Otago in Dunedin in 2005

‘Obviously you’re excited to be there, but the nature of being a professional sportsman and a competitive animal is you want to be the best you can be. It’s all well and good making up the numbers, but you’ve got to have the self-belief that you are good enough to play Lions Test rugby.’

Given Jones’ influential role in the success of Gatland’s Wales team in recent years, he’s better-placed than most to know what the gameplan will be for the forthcoming test matches.

‘What you cannot do against the Australians is make mistakes. Gatland will want his team to be physical and direct, but more importantly, accurate. If the Lions are accurate in everything they do, you cut down on the potency of the opportunists within the Australian team.

‘He’ll be talking about discipline, not giving Australia ways into the game and playing with accuracy and being clinical. You are only presented with five or six scoring opportunities in Test rugby, and the best teams in the world are the ones who take most, if not all of them.

In charge: Jones knows Warren Gatland very well having played for him since 2008

Ryan on… the set-piece:

‘The set-piece is important but I
don’t think it’s the be all and end all. It’s something in the modern
game that people focus in too much at times. There are only a handful of
lineouts and scrums in a game. Most ball comes from turnover or kick
reception – they’re big things that will have a huge impact on the game.
Set piece will be an area where the Lions will go at the Australians
and try to stamp their authority, but let’s not right off the Australian
team because they’re a side who play together regularly against the
likes of South Africa who do it better than most, they’re the most
direct and physical team around, so Australia will front up as good as
anyone on their home patch. Against the Lions, it doesn’t get much
bigger than that.’

‘He’ll challenge you, he’ll tell you in no uncertain terms what he wants from you and it’s up to you as an individual to deliver.’

Physicality has been a key factor in Wales’ rise to the top of the northern hemisphere game, and Jones doesn’t see Gatland and the coaching team moving to a different type of rugby with the Lions.

‘I can’t see him going too far away from that. They’ve had an awful lot of success over the last few weeks, albeit not against great opposition really, but by the initial squad he picked he was always going to be physical and direct. But within that, there’ll be a licence to play – there’s too much creative talent within that team not to give them that licence.

‘You can imagine Leigh Halfpenny will have a huge say on the outcome of the game. I can’t imagine Mike Phillips not having his moments throughout the game, these are big characters. Adam Jones too, if it becomes a set-piece game. If he’s winning penalties and big decisions are going the Lions way, he’s going to be important. Manu Tuilagi, if he plays, is going to have his moments. It all depends on the make-up of the team and how it’s being refereed is going to be a huge factor.’

Key man: Full back and place kicker Leigh Halfpenny

Jones was disappointed not to get the call in May, and his reaction to not being selected was typical of a man who fans recognise as one of the most dogged of a generation.

‘I was disappointed because you do get caught up in the excitement and people who tell you they don’t think about it are liars. Everything was geared towards that announcement date and until your name’s not read out, or you don’t see it on the screen, however small that little bit of hope is, it’s still there. That’s very much sport and life though, I’m not a big one to dwell on it, there are no bad feelings, that disappointment was short lived because you can’t afford a hangover in this business from one week to the next – you just have to suck it up and get on with it.’

This is the first time in a decade that Jones has not had a summer tour to deal with, or an operation to undergo, and he’s made the most of the break with an extended holiday in Majorca with wife Ailsa, son Jacob (1) and daughter Ellie-May (2). But come the Test matches, he’ll be a fan, watching and cheering.

Welcome break: Jones is enjoying a summer away from rugby

‘I believe they can win the series. I think it’s a great group of individuals who could become a great team in the next couple of weeks. Australia have lost some key guys – Pocock and Higginbotham will be big losses and that will be a huge confidence boost to the Lions.

‘But Australia very rarely get it wrong on the big stage – I imagine they’ll start quite like the Queensland Reds did and play a high tempo game. I do wonder what sort of preparation Australia have had though, and I would say the ball is in the Lions court, although I’m not brave enough to put my house on it because you never, ever write off Australia.’

Missing out: Back row forwards Higginbotham (left) and Pocock (right) are both injured